From August 1-3, Hinterland Festival returned to the fields of St Charles, Iowa, as a resounding success. After a sweltering-hot 2024, Hinterland rebounded and restored fanbase trust for many years to come.
FRIDAY
You could feel the energy from zip codes away. Although the music didn’t start until Friday afternoon, the camping portion of this festival opened its gates on Thursday to a rested and energetic group. This year was about a 50/50 split of Iowans and travelers, providing a wide range fans eager to see this incredible lineup.
Friday kicked off with one of my personal favorite bands from the weekend, Scowl, coming off of their second album Are We All Angels with an absolutely electric set. An incredible band and great group of people, I had the chance to interview the band after their set and talk about everything from their opening sets with Blink-182 this fall to what was left on the cutting-room floor from their recording sessions. Stay tuned to Downey’s Hour, Monday Nights 9-11pm, for the interview!
A monumental task following Scowl, INJI and Good Neighbours had the bar set high. INJI took the crowd in and made them dance, a very joyful set to watch. The energy from her was magnetic and the good vibes continued with the Australian group Good Neighbours. You can’t go wrong with indie rock in the summer, and they brought with them tracks off their upcoming debut LP, Blue Sky Mentality.
Rebecca Black took the stage next, demanding the crowd’s attention and movement. There were very few moments in which her commands were not being followed by the pit. Black covered Katy Perry’s “Ur So Gay,” as she has been opening for Perry’s arena tour all summer. Her set included an interpolation of her hit “Friday” and a track off her brand new record, Sugar Water Cyanide. This wasn’t the only sighting of Rebecca Black as she held a booming DJ set at the campfire stage later that night.
Royal Otis came up next with more upbeat indie rock, taking on covers of the Cranberries’ “Linger” and Sophie Ellis Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor.” Royal Otis knew how to work a festival crowd and enjoyed every second of it. Right after the duo was Remi Wolf, one of the hottest new names on the festival circuit this year. With her incredible live band, including poet and member of Paramore and Vampire Weekend Brian Roberts Jones, it was a nonstop party.
Following Remi Wolf was the sub headliner, Clairo, who waltzed on stage with her band, all holding wine glasses, setting the tone for the relaxed and elevated evening of music she was about to provide for us. With headphones on and an amazing record to showcase, Clairo played a 14-song set, with half of the tracks coming from her third LP, Charm. I adored this set for many reasons, but a huge one was all of the analog instruments being used on stage. A wide range of winds, horns, and synths were all included in this set. A favorite part was multi-instrumentalist Hailey Niswanger setting St. Charles on fire with a saxophone solo that could have woken up a sick toddler on Benadryl who just spent all day in the sun at Disneyland. The band all exited the stage in the same leisurely fashion they had entered, but with the confidence of knowing they had just made thousands of new fans.
Ending Friday night on the main stage was Tyler, The Creator. Coming off his brand-new record Don’t Tap the Glass, anticipation was high for the first hip hop headliner in Hinterland history. A bright green shipping container was flipped from the back of the stage to show the word Chromokopia (the album Tyler has been touring) until stagehands unrolled a big red banner with the most recent record’s title draped over it. Asking the crowd, “Des Moines what’s good,” Tyler made his way on top of the shipping container, where he would spend the next 75 minutes putting on an unforgettable show and complimenting, “I don’t even know where I am on the map, but your town is beautiful.” Opening his set with the first two tracks off Don’t Tap the Glass before jumping straight into almost the entirety of side one of Chromokopia. With a career-spanning set with songs from all but one of his records, Tyler left everything out on the stage. He spoke highly of the energy we brought, mentioning how taxing this tour has been but how crowds like Hinterland make it all worth it. Tyler hustled from Lollapalooza to St. Charles, then right back on a plane to Montreal the next night for Osheaga. Hinterland got the best set of the weekend with four more songs than either fest. An incredible day with a jaw-dropping headliner, Hinterland blasted itself forward on the strongest foot possible.
SATURDAY
Hinterland’s undercard continued to impress with hey, nothing running onto the stage to start the day with the energy of a headliner. They’ll be returning to Des Moines opening for Cage the Elephant in October. I walked into Saturday knowing the least out of the three days, but walked away with so many new songs to add to my playlist. Willow Avalon was a pleasant surprise as she might have been my favorite of the day. During a quick seven songs, including an unreleased track called “Work To Do,” the crowd was swept up on the wave of her soft voice and set lightly back down with the feeling of a lullaby in our hearts.
Hinterland each year seems to book artists who blow up from the time of the lineup announcement to the festival, and this year that included both Gigi Perez and Role Model. I hadn’t been a listener to either before this year, but the excitement around both of these artists led to can’t miss sets. Gigi Perez hitting half of the songs off of her breakout record At the Beach, In Every Life to a loud crowd shouting back words of every song. Role Model also held the crowd in his hand for his big hit “Sally,” where he brought out lead singer of The Marías, María Zardoya. Sandwiched in between Perez and Role Model was another one of the hottest new groups, Glass Beams. Taking the stage masked and with instruments in hand, their type of music was yet to be heard ever before at Hinterland. The trio grooved along with an interesting and new fusion of alt and psychedelic rock mixed with traditional Indian music.
Still Woozy brought some fun set pieces and interesting visuals drawing in attention from the whole hill. It was a fun and fresh vibe Sven Eric Gamsky and company created for their time, getting folks up to dance and sing to their infectious tracks. After Still Woozy, The Marías took the stage to thunderous applause and rightfully so. The Marías showed Hinterland why they’re one of the hottest groups on the festival scene by playing so many songs it felt like a headlining set. I love a band who brings their set pieces to a festival and The Marías were bouncing around theirs for a full hour.
At the end of the night, turf was spread and shrubbery was placed as Kacey Musgraves‘ festival run of her Deeper Well tour hit St Charles. To a colorful and lush backdrop, Musgraves came out sporting butterfly wings, jet black hair, and a tobacco-burst Gibson acoustic. Hitting four tracks off of her brand new record, seven off of her Grammy Award-winning Golden Hour, and a scattering of her earlier works, Musgraves’ 17 songs felt like a story time of who she was, is, and wants to be. An incredibly moving set anchored by her six-piece backing band. A lovely send-off for the night into our final day on the festival grounds.
SUNDAY
Sunday began with Detroit-based rapper Sam Austins, who took the stage to a fairly full festival grounds thanks to the thousands of campers for headliner Lana Del Rey. Austins brought the crowd even closer to the stage, getting legs tired from dancing as the day was just beginning. Irish rocker Orla Gartland followed with a quick set of tracks off of her new record Everybody Needs A Hero, and a cover of Chappell Roan’s “Red Wine Supernova.” The energetic trio made this stop on their way out west opening up for Glass Animals.
Wyatt Flores and Evan Honer both played great sets earlier on in the day, with Wyatt coming out to sing their duet “Take Me As I Come” and Honer joining Flores for a cover of The Fray’s “How To Save A Life” during his set. Flores played another cover, Sturgill Simpsons “You Can Have the Crown,” where he attempted the nearly impossible task of making a Sturgill Simpson song feel like his own, and succeeded at that challenge. They both hustled up to Des Moines after their set to play another show at the Val Air Ballroom that night, but it didn’t stop them from making memorable sets while they were in St. Charles. Michael Marcagi was sandwiched in between and was a great artist to transition in between these two collaborators. With a fun and upbeat set, holding its own emotional moments, Marcagi made time for it all including an acoustic cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s “deja vu.”
Sierra Ferrell continued to move her way into my playlists with an incredible set, kicked off by her band singing “Happy Birthday” to her in front of a sold-out Hinterland crowd. She opened with a fiddle in her hands, singing “I Could Drive You Crazy” off of her most recent record Trail Of Flowers. Between the finger picking and fiddling, Sierra Ferrell makes every audience not only a fan of her work, but a fan of this old-time country folk genre. She’s joined the likes of Billy Strings, Jesse Welles, and Zach Bryan in collaborations in just the past few years, and rightfully so, as Ferrell has launched into becoming one of the faces of the genre. During her set, eyes were taken off of her and directed towards the sky as three hot air balloons floated over the festival grounds. Exchanging waves from the atmosphere and the ground, it was one of those beautiful moments you could only find at Hinterland.
The set I was most excited for this weekend did not disappoint. Bleachers put on a Bleachers show in true Bleachers fashion. The stage: slathered in checkerboard print; the backdrop: all black with sheets draping over Lana’s towering set; guitars: tossed across the stage like baseballs. Without logos, visuals, or much beyond instruments and his voice, Jack Antonoff and company prove once again they are one of the greatest live acts in the world. Kicking off their set with three tracks off of their 2024 self titled LP, Bleachers delved head first into longtime fan favorites after including a cover of “The Whole of the Moon” by the Waterboys which they recorded on their 2023 record Live At Radio City Music Hall. Antonoff called for people to hop on each other’s shoulders during their first single, “Rollercoaster,” to which many in the pit obliged. Before their final track, “Stop Making This Hurt,” Jack recalled watching an old Smashing Pumpkins concert on his way to Iowa and mentioned how nobody crowd surfs anymore. I will admit, crowd surfing at Hinterland was not on my agenda walking into the weekend, but when an opportunity like that presents itself, it’s impossible to turn down. GA and VIP alike, people were being ushered in the sky up to the barricade as Evan Smith and Zem Audu traded 8’s on their saxophones as the band took their bows and danced offstage. Rock and roll is alive and well, and to any doubters, point them in the direction of a Bleachers show.
Lana Del Rey took the stage at about 10:30, later than when some festivals wrap up, which is one of the huge perks of having a festival in the fields. With a mix of theatrics, projections, a string section, backup singers, and dancers, all with the backdrop of a bayou house down south, Lana is known for her production value and she did not disappoint. In her second-ever performance in this state, Lana opened with a variety of tracks including her new single “Henry, Come On.” Closing out the evening with a cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Lana said this was her last date of the year and for the time being. A sold out crowd stayed until the end and shuffled out with the epidemic of post-concert depression just short of midnight.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Best Cover: Michael Marcagi covering Olivia Rodrigo’s “deja vu”
- Best New Song I Heard: “Late To The Party” by Orla Gartland
- Best Set Design: Lana Del Rey
- Crowd Favorite: Role Model
- Highest Energy: Scowl
- New Favorite Artist: Willow Avalon
- Must See Again: Sierra Ferrell
- Personal Favorite: Bleachers
My Thoughts on Hinterland:
Before all of the people getting on shoulders and crowd surfing, Bleacher’s frontman Jack Antonoff mentioned how Iowa does it right, and even going as far as to say “Glastonbury, take note.” All of these little moments that Hinterland makes snowball into a unique, well crafted and personal festival experience. The crew at Hinterland did an outstanding job this year to make sure patrons knew they are cared for and valued in St. Charles. As part of Hinterland’s 2025 initiatives, as of the start of Saturday, Hinterland had given out over 61,000 17-oz bottles of water. Hinterland also takes care of the town, platforming vendors who were able to raise $3,000 for the B. Well Foundation’s Creative Coaches, the Iowa Alliance for the Arts raising over $3,500, and Wander & Co. Planting 325 trees and donating over 400 meals to area food banks.
Some people walked into Hinterland this year skeptical with what this fresh take on the festival would look like, but with more free water stations, more natural and temporary shade structures, a larger concourse, expanded merch and vendors, more entrances, and a whole new VIP and Saints setup, Hinterland calmed any fears patrons had for years to come and put on the best festival of 2025.
With an abundance of music festivals to choose from, Hinterland goes above and beyond to become a more-than-worthwhile destination for its festival-goers. There is a certain energy that is brought to the fields that foster a sense of community found rarely at other festivals. That community comes from a mix of the classic “Iowa Nice,” the campers, and the organizers taking extra care of this very special festival. You can’t get this feeling at Lollapalooza or Austin City Limits. Hinterland is singular. Hinterland is something you can exclusively feel in Iowa. The groundwork has been laid this year for many years to come. Hinterland will be returning to St. Charles July 31- August 1, 2026, to an eager and reinvigorated crowd. Thank you to the staff, volunteers, security, and all who helped put together this magical weekend in the fields of Iowa.
Tune in to “Downey’s Hour” on Monday nights from 9-11pm for the latest festival news about Hinterland and more!
